The Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill received its first reading in Parliament today. Justice Minister Andrew Little says the Bill will help uphold the public’s confidence in the integrity of Parliament, MPs and the voting system. “The Bill will introduce a mechanism to allow an MP’s seat to be declared vacant when that MP departs […]

“This morning I spoke with New Zealand First Leader, Winston Peters. We will look to hold a meeting between our respective teams later this week, while we wait for special votes to be counted. “Special votes remain an important part of the process for the Labour Party with more than 380,000 votes yet to be […]

National’s failure to acknowledge and fix the housing crisis will be their legacy. Labour will tackle the housing crisis head-on, says Labour Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “Their report card shows National has let Kiwis down when it comes to ensuring there are enough houses, supporting homeownership, and making sure all our families have a healthy […]

Earlier in the week, Wairarapa Labour candidate Kieran McAnulty made some pretty stirling remarks about the problems of social housing and housing affordability at a local Meet The Candidates event. He’s quoted by the Wairarapa Times-Age as stating an intent to “prioritise” sorting the present situation wherein denizens of the local Trust House social housing scheme have […]

It is time for Bill English and Steven Joyce to stop the scaremongering and lies, and front up to New Zealanders about the impact of their tax cuts, Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson says. “Bill English has no credibility on tax issues. He was the Finance Minister in a Government that increased GST after specifically […]

Labour has today launched its media and film policy aimed at strengthening New Zealand’s identity and providing sustainability for the industry, says Leader of the Opposition Jacinda Ardern. “Labour recognises that as a nation we must be able to tell our stories, including those of our diverse communities, on multiple platforms effectively in a […]

There is no housing crisis, just a housing boom – Nathan Guy Labour candidate Rob McCann says he was shocked and disappointed when current Otaki MP Nathan Guy told a packed public meeting, hosted by the Otaki Rotary Club on Thursday, that there wasn’t a housing crisis, it was a housing boom. “I was astounded, […]

Labour will strengthen the oversight of Whānau Ora and provide an extra $20 million over four years to improve outcomes for whānau and families, says Labour’s Deputy Leader Kelvin Davis. “We’ve created a new position of Whānau Ora Reviewer to enable better outcomes for whānau and ensure improved access to Whānau Ora services. “The independent […]

The latest Housing Affordability Measure report shows affordability dramatically worsening for Auckland first home buyers, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “After nine years of a Government that has failed to make any headway on fixing the housing crisis, New Zealand deserves better. “The number of potential first home buyers in Auckland who have […]

The Salvation Army’s latest report ‘Taking Stock’ shows why New Zealand needs a Labour-led Government committed to a massive house building programme, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “When the Sallies say the country needs 2000 extra state houses a year just to stand still, it is time to sit up and listen. “They rightly […]

New Zealanders need to hear from National about how they will fund the clean-up of our rivers and lakes for future generations. Instead, National has broadened its scare-mongering, says Labour’s Water spokesperson David Parker. “Everyone knows our water is too polluted. We know we need to stop pollution getting into our rivers and lakes, […]

The Government’s seeming determination to turn a blind eye to new questions about what happened at Pike River Mine is troubling, says Labour’s West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O’Connor. “The video from Pike River mine, appears to show movement in the mine ahead of the second explosion, and open self-rescue packs. “It raises questions […]

The spread of rental increases from the big cities to the surrounding regions shows why we need to get on top of the housing shortage build homes our families can afford, and lock out the speculators, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “The latest figures from MBIE show that, since National came to power, […]

National is falling into a bad pattern of promising the world and not saying how they will fund it, says Labour’s Water spokesperson David Parker. “New Zealanders deserve an answer from Nick Smith on how he would fund his promises for cleaning up water. In Parliament today, he said it would cost $100m a […]

National needs to explain how they will fund the $6 billion funding gap in their 10-year Auckland transport plan, says Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford. A yet-to-be-released report of the refreshed Auckland Transport Alignment Project shows $2.9 billion in extra funding is needed in the first decade because of faster than expected population […]